and, in case you just want the latest, as available in ports, I think you should check what pkg repo you are using, starting from 10.2 the default repo is "quaterly" but guess is not as update as ports; the conseguence is that some dependency pkg remain behind those available in ports or "latest" repository.

thanks for responding. there is no particular reason for using ports, they're just a bit easier to handle. I was hoping someone had come across this already, considering how popular kodi is. Going to give the pkg a shot when I get the chance, currently multitasking my ### off.